A night at the hospital
by BabaDochia
Summary: Kakashi is hospitalized due to fever. That surely calls for a team seven reunion. But when all kinds of memories come rushing in will they be able to comfort each other? Set after the war, Narusaku.
1. Chapter 1

**A night at the hospital**

**Part 1**

"Kakashi-sensei!" shouted a scared Sakura and she rushed to his side.

Kakashi smiled weakly to the pink haired girl and his ex student.

"How are you, Sakura?" asked the man politely.

"Fine, sensei. Busy at the hospital with all this work. I'm still trying to build a stronger health system, but I guess I need more time. "

The grey haired man smiled widely at the kunoichi, even though that went unnoticed by her because of the ever present mask.

"Sakura, you are doing a great job as a Head Medic! These are hard times and recovering after this kind of war is never easy. Believe me, your healing is what keeps us going."

"Kakashi-sensei, stop that! You know what keeps us going. Or better said, who…"

Kakashi smiled and adjusted himself on the hospital bed.

"Yes", he answered. "It's Naruto, I know."

Sakura shook her head lightly.

"Yes and no. It's also you, sensei. Since you became the hokage you've done so much for everyone… you are the best hokage ever. That's what I believe! " she declared proudly.

Kakashi watched her, a bit embarrassed. To hear his pupil say that was, of course, pleasing, but he knew it was by far the biggest lie Sakura had ever said. Compared to the other hokages he was weak and inexperienced. Yes, he could lead people and defend the village, but that didn't make up for the fact that he was just keeping the seat warm for the true heir, Naruto.

"Thank you, Sakura, you are way too kind and you tend to praise me more than I deserve. But, let's end this discussion. I need to know when I can get out of here."

The pink haired kunoichi looked at him, worried.

"Sensei, you have a slight fever. You should stay here tonight and rest."

"No, I'm afraid I can't," disagreed the sixth hokage. "I have to do a lot of paperwork and, even though this sounds so unlike me, I really intend to do it."

"Sensei, please…"

Kakashi was already getting up from the hospital bed and was tying up his shoes.

"Sensei,I forbid you!" said Sakura sternly.

Kakashi chuckled as if she was not the Head Medic, but his old ninja student. The man got up and headed to the door, whispering his goodbyes, but, as he was stepping out, he got dizzy.

He felt too weak to react and waited for the impact, when a pair of strong hands caught him.

"Kakashi-sensei, I hope you are not dying! I am not ready to become hokage yet!" declared the blond jonin that entered the room.

"Ah, Naruto, thank God!" said Sakura relieved.

"Yes, Naruto, thank you," replied Kakashi and adjusted his clothes. "It was nice seeing you too, but I am in a hurry and…"

Suddenly, Naruto's hand was resting on Kakashi's forehead.

"Sensei, you're burning up! You can't leave!" shouted Naruto confused.

"Yes, that's what I was telling him! Sensei, please! You almost collapsed. You need medicine!" continued Sakura.

The hokage looked at his two pupils and, a moment later, sighed loudly.

"Fine, but only for tonight," he agreed.

Sakura clapped her hands, pleased and called a nurse to fix a bed for her sensei.

When Kakashi was finally in his hospital bed and in pajamas, Sakura explained how the treatment was going to go.

"At the moment, we will only administrate light medicine, but I will keep you under strict observation. If your temperature goes up, we'll give you some stronger meds to control it. Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei, I'll be here all night," she finished happily.

"What? Why are you staying?" asked the man, confused.

"Well, I am on duty tonight, but it's less crowded than it usually is so I can keep an eye on you."

"I'll stay too!" declared Naruto proudly.

"Wait!" said Kakashi loudly. "It's very nice of you 2, but I am not a child so you don't need to do all this!"

"But, sensei, I have no missions tomorrow and I haven't talked to you and Sakura-chan in such a long time," complained the blond, pouting.

Kakashi sighed and Sakura smiled awkwardly.

"Fine… we'll catch up. Fine, alright," agreed the hokage.

"Great!" exclaimed Sakura." I'll be right back! I'll go bring some tea and cookies."

She exited quickly.

"She's amazing, isn't she?" asked Naruto dreamily.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at his student.

"Are you sure you're asking the right person?"

"She is, sensei!"

"Well, yes, Sakura is an amazing medic and a strong kunoichi. She's very precious to Konoha and…"

He stopped because of the odd look he was receiving from Naruto.

"Sensei, you know what I mean," he insisted.

The hokage sighed deeply and tried to fight the pain he was in.

"Yes, I understand. Naruto, I believe Sakura is an amazing woman and I know you are still in love with her. What I don't know is why you are such a chicken and don't confess to her already. You're both adults and it's obvious you both like each other and…"

"Wait, sensei," interrupted the blond." You think she likes me too?"

Kakashi looked at his still childish face, all covered in glee. Even though the blond was a war hero and a jonin now, he still couldn't help looking at him like he used to look at the old Naruto who declared his love for ramen so freely, who hadn't killed gods and other villains. He wanted to keep the blue eyed ninja in his heart as pure as possible. After all, team seven was his family, they were his children. But this tall and scarred Naruto confused him sometimes. In some moments he would act just like the old Naruto, but mostly he was sad and moody and solitary. Kakashi knew wars change people, but to see the blond so silent all the time was concerning. It was after that moment when Naruto had lost his voice…after Sasuke had died.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you alright?" asked a concerned Naruto, while shaking his shoulder.

"Ah, yes, sorry…"

"You seemed to be thinking about something important, sensei. You don't want to tell me if Sakura likes me or not? Is that it? " the blond started to panic.

"Naruto, breath!" commanded Kakashi sternly. "Look, I don't know what hides in Sakura's heart, but I think she does like you. I think you two would make a nice couple. That's all I have to say and it's not like it even matters. But if it makes you feel better…"

Suddenly, the hokage felt his pupil's arms around him and, through the hug, Naruto whispered with the most childish voice:

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei! You're the best!"

And, with just that, Kakashi could have sworn he was feeling a bit better.

Just then, the door opened and Sakura entered carrying a big plate of different flavored cookies and some jasmine tea.

"Drink while it's hot, sensei!" she advised and the older man complied, even though the tea was way too hot and his tongue ended up aching.

"It's nice having you both here," said Sakura. "It has truly been too long. How have you been, Naruto?"

The blond finished his cookie then answered.

"Well, busy with all the missions Kakashi-sensei assigns me to," he joked, earning a raised eyebrow from the hokage. "But I am good. I try to help as much as I can."

Sakura nodded kindly.

"But…," he continued , " it saddens me that the world hasn't changed as much as the Sage of the sixth paths has desired. Even after the curse we've been through, I still see people doubting each other…and it kind of makes it hard to fight, to go on."

Kakashi and Sakura exchanged worried looks. The older man talked first.

"Naruto, these things need time…I am sure people have only begun to realize what they have really been through. I know that only now they have truly begun to understand their experience. And I've seen them, Naruto. It's a slight change, but it matters. They are helping each other more than they think. In time, they will reach a new level of humanity and create new bonds. You have to be patient."

The blond only nodded absently. His face had grown paler and sadder in a couple of seconds.

"But why can't they just do it? Why can't they just open their eyes? Jiraya sensei died for this and Nagato and S… ." he stopped abruptly.

A hard silence fell over the trio. The S name had slowly become a tabu. No one ever mentioned it, especially in Naruto's presence. Sakura decided to break the ice.

"Naruto, are you sleeping enough? Are you eating well?"

The blond's eyebrows furrowed at her question. Kakashi took the time to really look at his pupil. Naruto had, indeed, lost some pounds and a bit of muscle and his body didn't look as healthy as it used to. To be honest, he looked sick. Kakashi really thought he needed a good meal and a warm bed. The hokage sighed, blaming himself for missing the obvious signs of depression. Naruto had been in this all alone since the war had ended and had slowly given in to sadness and misery. Kakashi could see it in his eyes, he could recognize it so easily because it was the exact feeling he had kept inside himself since his father had committed suicide. But…to see it in Naruto…it was so strange and it made the man feel very uneasy.

"I sleep and eat when I can, Sakura-chan," responded the blond, suddenly cold.

"Naruto, please don't lie to me. Please, tell me the truth!" begged Sakura, her voice already breaking.

The young jonin sighed.

"Look, since…he has died…I just couldn't keep on being the same. Everyday I feel this pain in my chest…but it's funny because I also feel empty inside. It's like my heart has been ripped out. I just…miss him, " he confessed quietly.

"We all miss him, Naruto," said Sakura and she touched his shoulder slowly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all your support. ^ ^**

**A night at the hospital**

**Part 2**

"I just don't understand why he had to do it…why he had to sacrifice himself for me… all I do now is live on with this burden!"

Tears were streaming down the young man's cheeks and he was now crying quietly. Sakura held him closer and looked at Kakashi, asking for help. The sixth hokage tried to ignore his growing fever and concentrated on bringing Naruto back to the light.

"Listen to me, Naruto. I know it's hard to forget and I know it's even harder to understand… but Sasuke didn't die in vain, alright? He wanted to save you, his best friend. Naruto, he was a hero and everybody knows that. He had saved us all and his memory will live on forever…"

"But….," whispered the blond, "he was my best friend, my brother."

Kakashi sighed and did the only thing he found useful at the moment: he enveloped the sobbing boy into a big hug. It was funny how the blond looked so little and defenseless.

"We all miss him, Naruto! He's also team seven and he will never be forgotten! We'll keep him safe, Naruto…we'll keep him safe in our hearts…and, within us, he'll be alive, " whispered Kakashi and let go of the young jonin.

Naruto looked at his sensei and nodded slowly. He even cracked a smile.

"I suppose I don't have to tell you that you need to feed yourself and to sleep properly," added the hokage, but was unable to continue because of one violent cough.

Sakura got up quickly and patted his back. Kakashi tried to regain his breath slowly while the kunoichi was giving him a check up.

"Kakashi-sensei, you are burning up! I'm sure you also have a massive headache and muscle pain. Why didn't you say anything?" asked the pink haired girl professionally.

"This was more important," said her sensei between coughs.

"Oi, sensei, you're old now and you could die from fever! You gotta take care!" declared Naruto while grinning like an idiot.

Kakashi chuckled lightly and accepted some pills from Sakura.

"Take them all and you'll be out in no time," explained the kunoichi.

"Hm… don't do anything funny," warned the hokage and then swallowed the meds.

"Don't worry, sensei, we'll take care of you!" declared Naruto proudly to which he received a tired nod from the grey haired man.

In a couple of minutes, Kakashi was already out and sleeping peacefully.

"He's tired from all the work around here. I've never seen him act so responsible, not even during the war. He's so active and he helps everybody who needs it…he must be exhausted. A good night sleep will make him feel better," commented Sakura while sipping her tea.

"Yeah…to think he ignored his fever only to put up with my nonsense, " added Naruto guiltily.

Sakura looked at him sharply.

"It's not nonsense. The hole you feel… I feel it too. It's because we have lost people who were dear to us, who cannot be replaced. But life goes on and it's good to be surrounded by friends," confessed the pink haired kunoichi. "We should really do this more often."

Naruto nodded slowly and picked up a strawberry biscuit.

"How have you been, Sakura-chan?"

"Well,…I haven't been doing much, actually. I stay a lot in the hospital, I sometimes just sleep in here. Not because I have to or anything, but because it's easier and it's not like there's much waiting for me back home. I don't know, I haven't really lived my life since the chaos had stopped."

She gripped her cup strongly and looked up at Naruto.

"I wish I would do some missions once in a while. I need the rush, I really do, " she confessed heartily.

"I'm sure we can make Kakashi-sensei send you in one or two badass missions!" suggested Naruto cheerfully.

Sakura chuckled at his happiness.

"I'm afraid he cannot because I'm the Head Medic. I am not allowed to go on missions, you know that," reminded the girl sadly.

"Yeah..I am sorry, Sakura-chan. But, if you want I can tell you how my last mission went. It's really been a weir done," suggested Naruto.

Sakura laughed and encouraged him to continue.

~2 hours later ~

"And that's when Kiba decided it would be a good moment to brag about a new jutsu or something. The ninja came out of nowhere and hit him right in the butt. I am telling you, it was hilarious and I barely managed to contain my laughter and help him out. After the fight ended and we got the scroll we needed, I realized there was little I could do to help Kiba…I remembered you always said that it was unsafe to move big objects from lesions so we decided to wait until we reached the village."

"You're becoming quite the medic, aren't you, Naruto?" laughed Sakura.

"No, Sakura-chan, but you were always saying something about infections and I was too scared to get that thing out of his…well, you know," explained Naruto enthusiastically. "The mission would have gone rather smoothly if Akamaru would have cooperated. But he had kept on barking all the way back to Konoha, complaining that I was the one carrying Kiba and not him. And when I told him why it was unsafe for the idiot to travel on a dog's back with his injury, he got even madder. He almost bit me, can you imagine? And he ate my ramen ratio…I swear to you, that dog is insane and…"

He suddenly stopped and admired the sight. Sakura was laughing wholeheartedly . Her face was red from all the smiles and from his jokes and the blond felt so content.

"I remember well," she said between laughs. " When you all arrived at the village you were so upset at each other that you didn't even speak. You just came to the hospital and tossed Kiba aside. I have to say that wasn't very nice of you considering that he landed on his…butt!"

Another fit of laughter got hold of the girl and Naruto couldn't help joining in. Some minutes later he excused himself and went to the bathroom. While he was gone, Sakura checked on her sensei. Sadly, she discovered that he was still burning up. She moved quickly and injected some more meds into the hokage's arm, hoping it would be enough. When Naruto returned he immediately noticed her distressed face.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?"

The girl answered slowly, still looking at her sensei.

"He's still burning up so I had to give him a shot of stronger meds. I guess his fever is worse than I thought."

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! Kakashi-sensei is strong, he'll be healthy in the morning," encouraged the blond.

"I hope," smiled the girl tiredly. "It's just… I can't help worrying about you two…I am afraid I might lose you like it happened with the others. Even from a fever like this, who knows what could happen? I… don't want to lose you, Naruto…you two are my family!" she confessed and hid her face into her pale hands.

Naruto just stood there for a moment, stunned at her words, but he recovered quite quickly. He put a gentle hand on her left shoulder and squeezed gently, trying to show her how much he cared.

"I'm scared of that too…that's why I sometimes check on you and Kakashi-sensei…just to make sure you're okay. But I trust you guys and I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt me like…like he did," he stammered slowly.

"Naruto…"

"No, Sakura-chan, he hurt me, but, you know, Sasuke and me, we've always hurt each other… that was how our friendship was like. But you should really trust me and Kakashi-sensei. We're not going anywhere!" said Naruto a bit louder and grinned.

The pink haired girl nodded slowly and relaxed.

"I trust you, Naruto! I always have and always will! But I can't help it, I worry!" she laughed lightly.

Naruto smiled at the girl, understanding the way she felt. They both fell into a comfortable silence, relaxing and enjoying each other's presence. They were warriors, they were protectors, they were shinobis. They always lived on the edge and, because of that, moments like these, spent near good friends, were extremely precious. But the moment didn't last for long.

"Sasuke," whispered the sleeping Kakashi.

Sakura and Naruto tensed instantly. They looked at their sensei with worried eyes only to see the man turning and struggling in his sheets, covered in ice cold sweat. The pink haired girl got up from her chair and checked the man's temperature.

"He's still burning up," she said slowly.

"Should we wake him up?" asked the blond.

"No…no, maybe he'll get over the dream. We shouldn't ruin his sleep," decided Sakura and sat on her chair.

But, in less than a minute, Kakashi spoke again.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," he cried louder. "It's my fault, my fault!"

This time real tears appeared at the corner of the hokage's eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei," whispered Sakura worriedly and she sat on his bed, caressing his forehead.

Naruto approached the bed, his eyes never leaving the older man's face.

"I didn't know he still felt that guilty," whispered Naruto. "He encouraged me like that, yet he blames himself this much…"

"I guess he feels it was his job to put Sasuke back on the right track…. And, as a team leader, he might think he had failed," responded Sakura sadly.

Kakashi's feverish whispers got their attention again, but nothing could have prepared them for what came next. Their sensei's right hand moved incredibly fast and started to scratch the man's left eye, trying to get it out.

"What the hell?' whispered a shocked Naruto.

"Obito," cried the hokage ,"it's yours! Take it back!"

Sakura tried to take hold of his hand gently, but he was strong.

"Naruto, I need help in here!"

The blond took his sensei's hand and brought it as far as possible from his eyes. In the meantime, Sakura injected the man with more sleeping pills and antibiotics.

"These should do" explained the girl. "He will not be able to dream for the next couple of hours."

"That's good, he need the rest," responded Naruto while sitting back on his chair.

"Naruto?" whispered Sakura.

"Yeah…"

"He…he was trying to tear apart his sharingan, wasn't he?"

Her voice was shaking, but she couldn't control it. She was shocked…no, beyond shocked.

"I think he was, yeah, " whispered Naruto back. "In his dream he seems to have forgotten that he no longer carries a sharingan…"

Sakura nodded slowly, trying to hide her tears. Naruto noticed her struggle and his heart melted at the sight. He approached the girl and gave her a strong hug.

"Remember, Sakura-chan, we'll always be there for you. As broken and messed up as we are, but we'll be there to help or comfort!"

Sakura leaned into the blond's chest, enjoying the warmth of his arms and his calming scent. Naruto watched her nervously…here she was, the girl of his dreams and in his arms…he could feel her breathing on his neck and he could feel the soothing touch of her pink hair. And Naruto knew, in his heart, that it was now or never. His sensei was right, he should stop being a chicken and just confess his feelings. What was the worse thing that could happen?

She could reject him.

_That would hurt._

She could scream and shout, as well.

_That would suck._

She could smack him.

_That would…hurt even more._

But what if she felt the same? What if she would look at him with those green eyes and say: "I love you too, Naruto". That would mean the world to him. He had to get this off his chest. He needed to confess, to come clean. Anything could happen, but he was willing to take his chances. Waiting and waiting didn't make him feel any better, it was plain torture.

So Naruto decided to make his move. He took Sakura's chin between his fingers and lifted her face so that he could look into her eyes. _Now or never, now or never! _The girl was looking at him curiously. _Do it, Naruto! You have to do it! _Her green eyes were looking deep into his blue ones, searching and analyzing.

_Tell her, baka! Tell her or she'll punch you or worse, leave!_

Sakura's brow furrowed while she waited for Naruto to speak, to do anything at all.

"Sakura-chan," he stammered.

She nodded slowly, encouraging him to continue.

_What do I say? How do I say it? Do I just say " I love you" or do I need to make a whole speech?_ He was panicking more and more and…

"Naruto, you're shaking," said Sakura, concerned.

The blond took a big breath and focused on her green eyes…those eyes that held kindness, stubbornness, power, courage…sadness, fear and maybe, a bit of love. Those eyes had been his inspiration for so many years and he couldn't let them down. He gathered the little courage he had left and, without thinking further, he expressed his feelings in the only way he could: he kissed the girl of his dreams.


End file.
